The present disclosure relates to a folding knife that has a blade open assisting function for assisting pivotal movement of a blade from a folded position to an open position performed by a user.
An ordinary folding knife includes a handle and a blade pivotally supported at the distal end of the handle. The blade is movable between a folded position (non-use position), in which the blade is received within a receiving groove of the handle, and an open position (use position), in which the blade extends out of the handle. Some of such folding knives have a blade open assisting function to assist pivotal movement of the blade from the folded position to the open position performed by the user. Although various types of these folding knives with a blade open assisting function have been proposed and used conventionally, there still is a demand for a knife that is highly reliable and has a special configuration.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a novel and improved folding knife with a blade open assisting function.
To achieve the above objective, a folding knife includes a handle having a pivot axis, a blade attached to the handle, a movable member configured to move about the pivot axis, an urging spring, and a switching mechanism. The blade is configured to pivot about the pivot axis to move between a folded position, at which the blade is received in the handle, and an open position, at which the blade extends out of the handle. A direction in which the blade moves from the folded position toward the open position is an open direction. The blade includes an engaging portion. The movable member includes an engaging claw capable of being engaged with the engaging portion of the blade. The urging spring urges the movable member in the open direction. The switching mechanism is configured to switch the movable member between an engaged state, in which the movable member is movable relative to the handle and the engaging claw is engaged with the engaging portion of the blade, and a disengaged state, in which movement of the movable member relative to the handle is restricted and the engaging claw is disengaged from the engaging portion. When the blade is in the folded position, the switching mechanism holds the movable member in the disengaged state. When the blade has moved from the folded position to a switching-position, which is between the folded position and the open position, the switching mechanism switches the movable member from the disengaged state to the engaged state, thereby moving the movable member in the open direction by the urging spring so that the blade is moved from the switching position toward the open position by the movable member.
Other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the disclosure.